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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 120 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  4. What do you think of the new ________________?
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. The light ________________ burned out.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  11. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  12. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  13. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  14. I've got to change the light ________________.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. degree — temperature
  3. cabinet — ministers
  4. cabinet — ministers
  5. capital — a city
  6. lash — an eyelash
  7. degree — from a university
  8. bulb — for light
  9. degree — an amount
  10. bulb — of a plant
  11. lash — to lash out
  12. chair — to sit on
  13. cabinet — a cupboard
  14. bulb — for light
  15. capital — money
  16. chair — a leader
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. lash — a whip stroke

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com